Georgia senator on SCOTUS decision on Louisiana redistricting map

(CBS, KYMA) - Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a redistricting map in Louisiana.

According to Brennan, the Supreme Court voted 6-3, striking down a 2022 Louisiana congressional map which had been gerrymandered to create a second majority-Black district.

A CBS News legal analyst said the decision was "narrowing the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act," meaning it'll be difficult to bring any lawsuits claiming gerrymandering discriminates along racial lines unless there's proof of that intent.

When asked why he called it a defeat for American democracy, Sen. Warnock said:

"Let's be clear, what happened this week is nothing less than a massive and devastating blow, not only to our democracy, but particularly to people of color in the South. This question about intent is on its head, misleading, and it ignores our history. We had 100 years after the 15th Amendment was passed, which, on paper, gave Black people the right to vote, but with supposedly or putatively race neutral methods. For 100 years, the right to vote was denied. But in more recent history, the Supreme Court, this same conservative Supreme Court, hobbled Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 with Shelby v. Holder. Since then, we've seen the racial turnout gap get wider and wider, not smaller, and it has grown twice as fast in the states that used to be under Section 5. We will see a devastating impact as a result of this, and now, more than ever, we've got to stand up and fight for our democracy."

Brennan then asked if this will hurt Black representation now that the U.S. is in a redistricting arms race both the Republican and Democratic Parties are playing with, along with asking if he supports redistricting his party's carrying out, and the senator said:

"I do because Donald Trump, who is better at dividing us than anybody I know, instituted an arms race in redistricting, but I actually hate partisan gerrymandering. I don't like gerrymandering, but we could not unilaterally disarm. He's the one who called Texas and said, literally, give me six more seats. And so, California and other states had to respond, Virginia in kind. But the solution to this really is to ban partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering turns our elections on its head, so that rather than the people picking their politicians or their public servants, the politicians are picking their voters."

During the interview, Brennan brought up Rep. Byron Donalds' (R-Fla.) comment saying, "Democrats do not care about Black representation. They only care about Democrat representation."

She also brought up Rep. Wesley Hunt's (R-Texas) comment when he was asked about the decision of the four Black Republicans to leave Congress.

"I represent a white majority district that President Trump would have won by over 20 points, and I won by 25 points the last time I ran. I'm being judged not by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character. I don't care how many Black people are here. I want the most qualified people that are here," Rep. Hunt explained.

This led Brennan to ask Warnock what he makes of Hunt's argument, and he said:

"He doesn't understand American history. No one...he's quoting the words of Dr King. No one was more committed to a country that embraces all of us than Dr. King. But Dr King, looking at that reality, is the one who is the moral power behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our covenant as an American people is E pluribus unum, out of many one. And so this notion that representation does not matter ignores history, it ignores the facts, is uninformed. Representation does matter. When I go to the Senate, every week, I bring my story and my experience as a Black kid who grew up in public housing in Savannah, and so does that white kid who grew up in Appalachia. She brings her experience too. And so when we create an increasing monolith, which is what I think is going to happen as a result of these- this decision this week, we hurt the democracy itself, and we make it harder to get at policies that embrace all of our children and give every child a chance."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Warnock, click here.